Syria: Why Obama's previous Defense secretaries criticize his approach
It鈥檚 a tough day for President Obama when his previous two Defense secretaries jointly criticize his approach to Syria.
But that鈥檚 what happened Tuesday evening in Dallas as Robert Gates and Leon Panetta expressed their concerns about Mr. Obama鈥檚 decision last month to ask Congress for its support for military action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The men did disagree, however, about whether military action is ultimately necessary, with Mr. Gates opposed and Mr. Panetta in favor.
鈥淲hen the president of the United States draws a red line, the credibility of this country is dependent on him backing up his word,鈥� Panetta said during a panel discussion at Southern Methodist University.
He said Obama should not 鈥渟ubcontract鈥� his decision to lawmakers. "Mr. President, this Congress has a hard time agreeing as to what the time of day is," he added.
Meanwhile, Gates said action 鈥渨ould be throwing gasoline on a very complex fire in the Middle East.鈥�
鈥淗aven鈥檛 Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya taught us something about the unintended consequences of military action once it鈥檚 launched?鈥� .
Gates also suggested that a diplomatic solution that would allow Russia to oversee and guarantee the destruction of Syria鈥檚 chemical weapons reserves is folly and that Russian President Vladimir Putin isn鈥檛 trustworthy. Obama has backed off his initial call for military action, which was received poorly in Congress and among the general public, in the hope that such a compromise could work.
Gates, who was appointed by President George W. Bush and was the only holdover from that administration to serve Obama, also said that a congressional vote against the president鈥檚 push for intervention 鈥渨ould weaken him.鈥�
鈥淚t would weaken our country,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would weaken us in the eyes of our allies, as well as our adversaries around the world.鈥�
Instead, Gates said he would impose sanctions that marked members of the Assad government as war criminals and would increase support for credible allies within the Syrian resistance, according to The New York Times.
Now enjoying private life, both men are writing books about their time in Washington, and those who embark on memoirs often seek to make news to spark interest. But Gates and Panetta, a Democrat, are widely viewed within the political and intelligence worlds as practical, thoughtful, and experienced policy gurus. Neither is a showboater.
So these latest words from Gates and Panetta are particularly stinging, even though much of official Washington has weighed in with varying degrees of concern about how Obama has handled the Syria matter in the wake of a chemical weapons attack.
The headlines have played accordingly:
鈥淕ates and Panetta Take Obama to Task,鈥� Commentary magazine suggests.
鈥淚t is rare enough for current or former White House aides to publicly criticize a president still in office, as David Stockman and George Stephanopoulos notoriously did in the 1980s and 1990s respectively,鈥� . 鈥淚t is virtually unheard of for senior cabinet members to do so. Which ... makes it all the more shocking and telling that two of President Obama鈥檚 former secretaries of defense 鈥� both models of discretion 鈥� have gone public with criticism of his handling of Syria.鈥�
Another aspect of the pair鈥檚 remarks that worries the Commentary writer and others: They see in Obama鈥檚 approach to Syria a 鈥渄angerous signal鈥� being sent to Iran.
鈥淚ran is paying very close attention to what we鈥檙e doing,鈥� Panetta said, per The New York Times. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no question in my mind they鈥檙e looking at the situation, and what they are seeing right now is an element of weakness.鈥�
Obama鈥檚 current Defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, shrugged off the episode while declaring his 鈥済reatest respect鈥� for his predecessors.
鈥淥bviously, I don鈥檛 agree with their perspectives,鈥� he said.
The problem for the president is that many others do.
